Forty Deuce

You Guys.

You know, because the first hug just wasn't enough.

Pic This: Permagrin.

Rafa got a standing ovation when he walked out at Bernabeu stadium during Real Madrid's Champions League match.

 

Those cheeks are getting a workout, that's for sure.

 

What I Did On My Summer Vacation: A Summary

This is a bit of a selfish post.  I needed to put it together so I had a one stop spot to pull these posts up and I kind of needed to remind myself of what the hell happened over the course of these past five weeks.  I plan on writing up some posts about my experiences on the road so if you have any questions or are curious about anything, feel free to ask in the comments.

In case I need to re-familiarize people with the story:  I basically did the blogger version of the US Open Series this summer, attending Stanford (with a press pass), San Diego, took a week off to hang with friends, and then made a very rash decision to keep it going, flying to Cincinnati for the ATP tourney (with a press pass), then New Haven (press pass), then on to my first Slam in New York, where I stayed around until both Ana and Sam lost.  

So here's a collection of my favorite posts.  If I've left one out that you enjoyed, feel free to remind me in the comments.

Stanford

• My daily reports: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Days 7-9.
• I single handedly fucked up the draw for Dinara, Ana, and Masha.
• I attended my first All-Access Hour with Mono, Lena, Sam, and Aga, which was so much fun.
• Caught some great practice video from Masha (here and here), Ana, and Sam (here and here).
• Steph and I were the first to see the besties be besties.
• FD Photographer Emeritus' Greatest Hits: Aga's shorts, Dinara and Vika, Dinara's modeling shots, Sam being Sam, kids spazzing over Ana, Sam and Pop, and Ana fistpumping Leather.
• Though I didn't do too bad with my camera either: Sam, Lindsay, Dani,
• I got to sit in on my first press conferences and it took everything in my power not to just pop some popcorn and sit back: Masha, Vika, Ana, Sam, Aga, Mels, and Vika and Mono.
• Masha was involved in some crazy entertaining matches.
• And Vika won.

San Diego

• After Stanford, Steph and I drove down to San Diego.  And I got punchy and talked a lot of nonsense in the car.
• My reports: Here, here.
• FD Photographer Emeritus' Greatest Hits: Dinara looking adorable, players roaming the grounds, lots of MaKiri, 
• Dani got into it with Lynn, Kleybs wrung her sweat out on Sneki,
• I reunited with Sam, short-lived as it was.
• ZOMG, I totally forgot about "I Love You Facebook!"
• Remember when Bepa got busted by Coq au Vin?
• We discovered MaZheng.  And it was glorious.
• And Sveta won.

Cincinnati

• I made a really impulsive decision.  And I went to Cincy and arrived just in time for the ladies final.
• Cincy was basically about hot boys.  Here, here, here, here, here.
• Fernando gave us an awesome new motto.
• I said hi to Andy.  In the creepy way I do.
• I got to sit in on Andy and Rafa's pressers.

New Haven

• I somehow made it to New Haven in time for Sam and Franny's pressers.  And the rain.
• Marcos and Vezzie proved how awesome they are.
• Dinara and Sam had some pretty big wins, for entirely different reasons.  And then...they didn't.  But that didn't stop it from being a pretty successful trip for me.
• I caught brief glimpses of Mel, Blah, PetKo, and Tommy.
• And I bore witness to a really awkward frat party.

US Open

• I popped my Slam cherry..
• Daily reports: Qualies, Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 5, Day 7, 
• I totally Serbed out.  Hard.
• I saw me a whole lotta Sam.
• And a whole lotta Ana.
• I caught this series of pictures, which might be my most favorite thing ever.
• I even waded through the pit of people and sweat to take some Rafa pics.
• I caught the PetKo dance.
• I left New York depressed.
• And most importantly, I became besties with Robbie and Genie.

Required Reading

• Read this fantastic takedown of CBS/ESPN's "coverage" of the men's final.
• Some really great stuff in Boyfriend's post-USO Mailbag.
• It's not a matter of "when", but "if" my man will ever win a Slam.
• 50 thoughts on the US Open from Boyfriend.  Kind of have to agree with his Sam assessment.
• Interesting piece on the actual cost of these fucking rain delays.
• Tignor's report card.  I think he's pretty fair with his assessments.
• And of course, some Rafa ink here and here. 

Aw. They Kissed and Made Up.

Head's tribute to Nole. Though personally, I'd rather see Nole's tribute to head.

Pic This: Men.

Just gotta love the love.

 

Looking forward to many more years of this, gentlemen.

Pic This: No Thank You.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! 

PUT THE SUNGLASSES BACK ON, YOU ALIEN!

Oh put a ill-fitting extra-large sock in it, James.

Stop taking fashion advice from Rausa, Christy.

Pic This: Stand and Deliver.

It's hard to believe that the 2010 Slam season is officially over.  There was heartbreak and heartwarm (that's a word, right?) over the past nine months and I for one have enjoyed every minute of it.  Ok, maybe not that one night in January, but otherwise, it's been pretty great.  Ok, that one afternoon in May kinda sucked, too. 

Where was I? 

Oh, right.  I realized this afternoon that I never did a proper Pic This entry for the USO.  Shame on me. 

So here we go....

Cultural Learnings of Serbia and Australia for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Forty Deuce

While I was in New York, I hung out quite a bit with Serbs and Aussies.  And bless them, they let me ask all the stupid questions I've always wanted to ask and they were even patient enough to speak slowly to the dumb American.  Here's a bit of what I learned:

• Aussies and Serbs are really friendly, good natured folks.  Who can drink.  A lot. 
• Serbian pride, paranoia, and fatalism is way fucking real.
• Beer is completely regional in Australia.  So if I plan on taking my "tracking" to Gold Coast, I better practice ordering Fourex beer.
• Novak is indeed the most popular sportsman in Serbia.
• Yelling "That's the way!" and "Love your work!" are really Aussie things to do.
• Anastasia Rodionova has fans.  Weird.
• JJ's like, the real deal in Serbia.  They love her and her fashions.  No really, AND HER FASHIONS.
• Watching a tennis match involving a Serb with a bunch of Serbs basically sounds like this: "AJDE! AJDE! AJDE!" --> "Oh my God, you're going to lose." ---> "IDEMO!!! COME ON!!!" ---> "Oh my God, you suck at tennis."  ---> AJDEEEEEEEE! You can do it!!!"  --->  That ball was out!!!  The stupid line judge!!!  It's a conspiracy!!!"  ---->  "AJDEEEEEEEE!"  ---> "WHY DOES HE/SHE DO THIS TO ME!?!?!?"  ---> "Yeah!  He/She won!"   Aaaaaand...scene.
• Ana's used sweaty visor reeks.  Novak's used sweaty cap does not.
• There is a really complicated Sammy Stosur song that is sung to the tune of a Vegemite jingle that I tried to learn while mildly intoxicated and failed miserably.
• Australia Day is a very big deal in Australia and they love that it falls during the Aussie Open.
• Americans like Lleyton more than Aussies do.  No one told me that.  That was just an observation.
• JJ's cousin wants to be a pop star and JJ wasn't happy about it.  But they've since made up.  Probably because JJ finally saw how awesome this video is:
  
  
• While I already knew "Ajde" and "Idemo", my new favorite Serbian cheer is "TOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" (prounced "toe").  So fun.
• Never ever mention Fosters to Aussies.  

Thanks to my educators!  You guys were bomb.  That's American for "awesome".

Pic This: Never Forget.

Leave it to Srdjan to make the fashion statement of the tournament.

Best. Shirt. Ever. Made.

The Best of The Rest

While the singles champs gave us a lot of warm fuzzies, there were a bevy of great stories unfolding on the outer courts as well:

 

How about Vania and Shveddy?!?  They had to endure an ill-timed rain delay that stopped the match in the third set at 4-5, 0-15, on Vania's serve.  But they were able to come back and upset Liezel and Nads to claim their SECOND STRAIGHT Slam title.  Good stuff.

 

Daria Gavrilova, Girls Champ.  Her name is Daria.  She is automatically awesome.

 

Jack Sock (love the name, but it really does sound dirty), the first American boy to win the USO juniors since A-Rod.  Fantastic run for the unseeded Sock.  (See?  Sounds weird).

And Liezel and the BryBros won a bunch of stuff.  Moving on.

I Am Rafa. SUCK IT.

A win is a win, a title is a title, and a record is a record.  Regardless of how you get there, once you do and are able to secure that notch on your belt, there should be no further discussion.  We say it all the time as fans: "It doesn't matter how you get there, just get there."

But that's all a lie.  It's a lie we tell ourselves as sports fans to normalize results, to add legitimacy to results that sometimes, let's face it, kind of leave a bad taste in our mouths or leave us scratching our heads.  It stops us from starting sentences with the oh so groan-worthy, "Yeah, he won, but..."

So bless Novak and Rafa, who played a fantastic final yesterday and on this day, unfortunately for Nole fans, Novak showed the world precisely how good Rafa is.

I received a very gracious invitiation from Chris Chase over at Busted Racquet to participate in a live blog of the men's final (you can still read our quips here).  For 3/4ths of the final, I found myself agonizing over and on behalf of Nole.  There was a lot of facepalming, a lot of head dropping, a lot of "WHAT ARE YOU DOING????" cries to the heavens.  It wasn't until the reality of result began to set in in the middle of the fourth set that it suddenly dawned on me:

Nole played really really well.

He really did.  He didn't choke, he didn't come out out flat, he didn't have too much respect for Rafa.  He came into this match and tried to stand toe-to-toe with Rafa.  The Falcon threw everything, including the kitchen sink, at Rafa, and Rafa dealt with all of it. 

Let's not forget, Nole saved, like, 20 break points, on a guy who came into the USO as the best in break point conversions.  And Rafa didn't choke those 20 BPs away.  Nole earned them.  And every time you thought Nole was going to pull a Nole 1.0 and roll over, he sacked up, whipped out his gigantic schlong, and played with guts and courage.  It was unbeliebable.

So why the hell am I spending paragraph after paragraph talking about Novak when Rafa's the one that made history?  Because Novak's gutsy performance makes Rafa's moment even more spectacular.  Perhaps the moment of the match I will always remember is Rafa serving three ridiculously placed wide serves at 15-30 at 5-4 in the third, to shut down any momentum Nole was gaining in his attempt to break back and get back into the set.  That was the match in a nutshell.  Nole working so hard to get a perceived advantage, and Rafa stepping up and shutting it down as Nole could do nothing but stand and watch. 

To quote Fernando: Rafa was too much Rafa today.

And that's what makes Rafa's historic win that much more satisfying.  On a surface that people considered his weakest, off a summer filled with confusing sub-par performances, at a time of the year everyone assumed him to be fatigued, on a stage he had never stood, faced with a more than worthy opponent who played to win, Rafa stood tall and showed every facet of him improved game, hitting shots that seemed unhittable, getting balls that seemed ungettable, and achieving a feat that no one thought was achievable when he first came on the scene, let alone a year ago.

And that's Rafa.  Just when you think he can't, he does.

He's like, really annoying like that.

Two Guys, One Cup.

Here it is. The full trophy ceremony, uninterrupted, which I am compelled to post after the debacle that was the TV coverage today. The match started on CBS, was moved to ESPN2 after the rain delay, and just as Rafa got his hands on the trophy, ESPN2 unceremoniously and rather abruptly switched coverage to NFL. It was a shining moment in sports television history. Keep it up, Bristol.

You have to love the class both these guys showed not only during their match but after. To all the people who pick on Nole because they think he's a pompous dick, you can go fuck yourselves. And you know what? I'm pretty Rafa would tell you the exact same thing.

Done and Done... and Done... and Done.

Live Blogging: Get My Quippy Quips. LIVE.

I'm live blogging with the boys at Busted Racquet.  Come and watch the action from your pathetic cubicles, Dilberts.

Get Her, Nads!

Lost in all the shuffle with the men's final, the ladies dubs final had to be suspended with Vania King serving in the third set at 4-5, 0-15.  In other words, King/Shvedova are 3 points from losing.  That's a tough spot.  The match will resume at 4pm EST on Armstrong.

Nice to see Nadia anticipated the rain and brought her wetsuit, though.  Always prepared, that one.  Except...not really.

[whispers]Because she's crazy![/whispers]

Required Reading

• Novak gets a shitload of print and deservedly so.  I still think people should fess up and post their pre-written Fedal pieces.
• Cute stuff about Sam's childhood time capsule, but does she seriously have an outside shot at #1?
• Uncle Toni doesn't believe in being muzzled.  He is also still awesome.
• Roger who?
• If you have never seen wheelchair tennis, you really need to try.  Saw some at the USO and it's absolutely phenomenal.
• Always love the Global Sports Forum.
• You know why it sucks to be a British tennis player?  Because you have to read crap like this.
• Not really reading, but helloooooooo, Dima!
• Some post-final stuff on Kim.
• Apology accepted.
• Linked to this before, but it still cracks me up.
• Having now been to the USO, I find it difficult to argue with Tignor's take.
• This Open has provided some beautiful moments.  But there were also some heartbreaking ones.  And Uncle Jamie recounts the Top (or bottom) 10.  (Scroll down to his Day 12 entry -- GET SOME PERMALINKS, MAN!)

Lord Have Mercy On The Workin' Man.

As expected, rain washed out the men's final today.  It's been postponed to tomorrow at 4pm EST.

The winner?  Novak, obviously.  And really, can we be mad?  As Mary Carillo pointed out, the kid deserves a day of rest after his epic performance against Roger yesterday.  And as my Dad pointed out, "Well, no excuses tomorrow."  Can't argue with Dad.  Let's put the two healthy boys on court and see how the chips fall.

The losers?  The fans.  I'm unemployed so I don't really give a shit either way.  But I know a lot of friends who were pretty amped to see this final, but will now be stuck at work while this potentially historic match is played tomorrow afternoon.  I also know plenty of fair-weather fans (no pun intended) who would have settled in to watch this match today, but won't even remember (or care) that it's going on tomorrow.  Obviously this impacts rating, which impacts CBS, which, while I have zero sympathy for CBS like, ever, has trickle down effects on the popularity of tennis.

So for those who want a high-quality, competitive final, the rain is good news.  But for those who want to actually watch the high-quality, competitive final, you're hosed.  Sorry.

Mommy, Didn't We Do This Already?

All I wanted was a competitive match.  I didn't get one.  59 minutes, 2 and 1, 20 straight matches for Kim on the blue courts at Flushing.  Kim held up her end of the bargain.  She bounced back after playing two sub-par matches to actually bring her game in the final.  If both players brought their best, my sense was that this would be an easy win for Kim.  Kim brought hers but Vera didn't and this one went embarrassingly quick.

Vera said she couldn't physically raise her level and that the fatigue prevented her from finding her game.  Interestingly, she said that made her feel a bit better about the loss.  She tried her best but just didn't have the physical capacity to do any more.  They say that one of the reasons the USO is so hard to win is because of the back to back turnaround of the semis and finals.  While the fatigue may have been something for Vera to hang her hat on, let's not forget that she played the early semifinal, hadn't dropped a set all tournament, and didn't have any long singles matches (though she did play doubles).  Kim on the other hand had two tough, long, three setters leading into today's final.  Vera's not using fatigue as an excuse but I just find it surprising that she couldn't recover from her semi for last night's match. 

Anyway, it was a snoozer.  And Jada knew it too.  She wasn't all that impressed with her new baby food canteen.  

"Nah, it's cool.  I got one of those already."

 

So congrats to Kimmy, who survived and thrived to defend her title and capture her third straight USO crown ("that she competed at" caveat, of course).  May your untamed locks power you through to a deep run in Australia.

 

Seriously? You Couldn't Find ONE Djokovic Fan?

Wish they talked to this guy:

Spoiler Alert.

And so it went.  

It has been absolutely ridiculous and appalling how little respect Nole was given leading up to yesterday's semifinal clash with Fed.  Ok, I get that people were writing Rafa into the final because he was playing Misha.  But commentators and journos were barely even mentioning this semfinal match, skipping it to discuss the ABSOLUTE MOTHERFUCKING GLORYGASM of the almost guaranteed Rafa/Federer final. 

If Novak needed any bulletin board material he didn't have to go looking through comments by Fed.  He just had to open up the newspaper.  We're talking about the #2 and #3 players in a semifinal match wherein, NO ONE EVEN BOTHERED DISCUSSING THE #3.  He was a minor blip on the way to a Fedal final.  No one hid their hard-ons for the dream final and just the thought of Nole or Misha spoiling it for everyone was apparently too much to take.

And thus the table was perfectly set for an upset.  This was a perfect opportunity for the Tennis Gods to teach a lesson in humility.  Humility to tennis fans, to journalists, to commentators, to everyone who buys into the idea tennis matches are decided on paper and not on a tennis court. 

There's that overused cliche: "That's why you play the game."  It's a cliche because it's true.  

The match itself was four sets of oddity punctuated by one of the best sets of tennis I've ever seen.  Novak's always played Fed tough on hard courts.  In addition to the lopsided second and fourth sets, which Nole won at 1 and 2, the first and third sets were tight affairs that were decided by a few points here and there. 

Then came the fifth set, and everyone (including die-hard Nole fans) expected Nole to crack under the pressure.  I spent a lot of time last week talking to tennis fans about Serbian psychology and one thing I've come to appreciate, especially when it comes to Novak and JJ, is their paranoid and fatalistic nature.  As the crowd grew vocally pro-Federer as the match wore on, I could see that "Well, everyone's out to get me" look creep across Nole's face.  It made me think that he already had one foot on a plane back to Belgrade.

But oh, those match points.  Novak would say after the match that he just closed his eyes and swung as hard as he could.  If it went in, great.  If not, oh well.  Ah, there's that fatalism that I know and love.  "If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.  If not, I tried my best but you can't beat the gods."  That fatalism has gotten Nole in a lot of trouble in the past.  In fact, it's probably been the deciding factor in quite a few of his tight matches against the top guys.  

But not yesterday.  If you're a non-fatalist then you argue that he stepped up, whipped out his gigantic schlong, and hit two amazing shots to save match points.  If you're a fatalist, then you smile and say that he stepped up, whipped out his gigantic schlong, and the gods anointed him worthy.

 

Either way, the result is the same.  Nole stepped up, stood toe to toe with Roger in a tight fifth set, saved two match points, broke, and then dug out of an 0-30 hole while trying to serve for the match to eventually secure what could easily be seen as the biggest win of his career. 

As for Fed, much will be written, once again, about his demise.  Whatever.  Sure, he lost another match with match points.  But Nole hit two ridiculous shots to save them.  As far as I'm concerned, Roger didn't choke this one away.  He just came across a very good player, who matches up well against him, who played beautifully. 

Hard to argue with Janko on this one.  I've always bristled whenever I've spoken with journos or fans who bash Nole.  It's fine if you don't like the kid but I guess what bothers me is when people don't even attempt to understand his situation.  Unlike the other Top 4, the kid is literally the number one athlete in his country and his popularity isn't confined to his status as an athlete.  He is a huge public figure.  The kid, at 23, is the king of his small but very proud sports-centric country.  It's hard enough to play tennis for yourself, but imagine having an entire country on your shoulders every time you step out on the court.  Shit ain't easy and as a young guy you're going to fuck up every once in a while.  But he's a good kid, trying as best he can to navigate his insane position, all the while being painted as the bad guy every time he steps on court. 

I'm not sure where I was going with all that, other than to say I feel for everything Nole has to deal with and it makes wins like this that much sweeter.  Be the bad guy, Nole.  Be the spoiler.  It suits you.

Correction, Motherfucker!

That was sent by CBS *during* the second men' semifinal yesterday.

Yes.  It was corrected.  By this guy:

 

Perhaps the most appalling thing about the whole debacle?  Despite knowing that the original tweet was wrong, CBS *waited* until the conclusion of the second semi to send out a correction.  Guess they were reeeeeeeeeaaaaaally hoping Fed was going to get them out of a jam, on many many different levels.

Air Quotes: America. Fuck...Yeah....

Q. How did you feel after that ceremony right there? What are your reactions to that? How special does it make this occasion to you?

MIKE BRYAN: To have the ambassador of Pakistani and India here, it's a special occasion. It shows that it's bigger than just a tennis match. And these are cool. These are 5,000 years old. Who knows? Might make this into a couple of shirts. (Laughter.)

Let Me Scoot Over, Venus Fans. The Bus To Bummertown Is A Bit Full This Week.

I could write a long post about this match.  But really, it would be a clone of this one. I might as well do a find-and-replace-all for "Sam" and "Venus" and be done with it.  Because once again, it's not the fact that Venus lost.  It's how she lost it.  And once again, there are only questions, no answers.  For the second straight match the story isn't Kim.  The story is how the person standing across the net from Kim found a way, somehow, to hand the match over to her when she wasn't playing particularly well.  

I feel for you, Venus fans.  This one hurts.  I would offer you alcohol but to be frank, I've run out. 

I know everyone is basically handing the trophy to Kim but I honestly don't see why (Boyfriend Jon audibly scoffed at the notion of Vera raising the trophy on US Open Tonight).  She's now played two matches of non-trophy-hoisting tennis against opponents who collapsed in the moment.  The last quality match she played was against Ana in the Round of 16, and let's be real, she really only had to play quality tennis for a few games before Ana collapsed.  Her serve has sucked, she's prone to double faulting, and while her movement has been solid, she's prone to fits of racquet decceleration and thus, UFEs.  Sure, Vera hasn't had the toughest draw, but she did at least beat Caro playing way higher quality tennis than Kim has.  Hell, Vera hasn't dropped a set all tournament.  

Sure, there's a lot to be said about Kim's "Houdini-like" ways.  But again, it's not like she stepped up her game in the last two matches and worked her way to a win.  We're talking about pretty major choke jobs by her opponents.  Kim. Didn't. Do. Anything.

Do I think Vera's going to win tonight?  I don't know.  Do I think she can?  Fuck yeah, she can.  I honestly don't have a strong rooting interest.  I like them both, I like the stories that come out of either of them winning, and at the end of the day, I'm just rooting for women's tennis.  I want this to be a competitive final showcasing the ladies' amazing athletic ability and shotmaking.

But, you know, go Vera and whatnot.

BOOM. Did I Just Blow Your Mind?

When I was in New York I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking to someone in Bepa's camp.  I told them that she looked fantastic in that NYTM piece and that the fans really loved it.  He was surprised (a) to hear that Bepa had fans and (b) because according to him she doesn't think she's beautiful enough to do those types of shoots.

And I was sad.

Bepa's played lights out tennis throughout the fortnight and put an exclamation point on her campaign so far with a solid and fairly thorough beating of Caro today to make her second Slam final in a row.  I'm not sure anyone walked away from that match thinking the better player lost today.  Bepa showed her variety, pace, guile, and movement to outclass the kid who everyone had already written into the final.  It was fantastic to see.

Of course, the match was not without its Bepa moments.  She somehow broke the strings on five racquets and actually ran out of racquets.  Sergei had to send a racquet down to the court until the stringers could get her some fresh ones.  I was sure that the whole debacle would rattle her.  But it didn't.  She stayed calm and composed and pretty much made the Johnny Mac and Mary Carillo look like idiots for all their harping about her propensity to meltdown.  In fact, after she was finally broken in the second set, John announced "Prepare yourself for a meltdown."

If by "meltdown" you mean a win, then yes.

As for Caro, it was a good tournament and nothing to hang her head at.  I think she did a lot to get many of her detractors (including moi) off her back. But at the end of the day, she's totally beatable by the top players.  We knew that coming in and we know that going out.  But her win over Masha has to give her confidence that things are going the right way. 

One interesting comment was brought up on Twitter.  Can Caro win a major title without the benefit of on-court coaching?  Carlos Ramos admonished her today to make sure her box stopped with the chatter.  I think there's something to this theory given her listless play in that second set.  She just didn't look like she knew what to do out there.  That's an experience issue.  She's only 20.  You need some years of "tennis education" to get to the point where you can figure yourself out of matches.  She's way ahead of the curve on this (I think she's one of the smarter younger players) but she didn't have it today.

Much love, Vera.  I can't wait to see all the ink you're about to get.  It's so satisfying to see people take notice of you.  Much deserved to the forgotten Russian.

The face of crazy, ladies and gentlemen.

We should all be so lucky.

Air Quotes: I Am Youzhny. And I Am Bad.

Q. You know that most people, most tennis fans, will want to see Federer and Nadal in the final. Are you going to be a bad person and try and ruin that?

MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: Yeah, I'm ready to be bad person. I love to be bad person in this case. (Laughter.)

Q. What are your better shots? How would you describe your game?

MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: No easy now say I have to serve like Isner or play forehand like Federer, something. I play like Youzhny. (Laughter.) But, you know, actually I have to be enjoying court, first of all. And after, it will be possible.

Required Reading

• If you hate tennis players being shoved down your throat, like FD Podcaster Christina, you better get your jaw wired:  CaroMania is in full effect, y'all.
• If you walk around the USO during juniors matches, you'll see a bunch of creepy dudes hanging out in small groups, with pads of paper, sunglasses, and a Blackberries, chatting quietly as they peruse the action.  It's creepy (especially when it's the girls), but they're just doing their job.
• Nick McCarvel at Tennis Served Fresh offers his formula for the MomoGlow.
• Holy crap.  Venus speaks!  About race!  Like...actually!
• Petko's last blog for ESPN.  Pour one out. 
• The American Men: A class below.  But just you wait.  Ryan Harrison's the real deal.  Seriously.
• I thought it was pretty well-understood that Fed talked about how he and Mirka don't have sexy times anymore, but ESPN's explanation is hilares. 
• So long as Rafa's on top, I just don't see anyone enforcing the "shot clock" rule.

Dust In The Wind.

Well, Fer, at least you broke Rafa.  You're the only one to have done it this tournament.  Then again, you only did it once (early in the first) and you couldn't hold on to the lead.  After Rafa was able to secure the first set 75, it was all downhill in a match where the wind was gusting, the temperatures frigid, and Rafa en fuego.  The wind in particular was a damn shame.  After their AO09 clash, I always get excited whenever these two play.  This could have been pretty great.  Or it could have been the same.  Either way, I hate when matches are influenced by wind.

Hair and facial expressions aside, Fer should be really proud about what he did this week.  I'm not sure anyone, even his diehard fans, thought he would play as well as he did at the USO.  Unfortunately, his good run ended as many of his memorable ones have:  He ran into Rafa.

Vamos, Rafa.  He's got Misha on Saturday. 

Misha? Like...Fo Real???

I fell asleep before the fourth set of the Misha/Stan match.  Apparently I just really needed a nap.  Imagine my surprise when I woke up three hours later to see that Rafa and Fernando were playing for a chance to play Misha in the semis.  Like, whoa, dude!

 

I was totally shocked.  I thought Stan had this in the bag.  He was serving well and playing really smart in the super-windy conditions.  But it sounds like the toll of his last two tough matches (4 setter over Moose, 5 setter over SamQ) finally set in.  Sam got both his legs taped and was just a step too slow by the end.

 

But congrats to Misha.  Right back at ya, baby.

K.I.T., Laura.

This is Laura Robson.  She's my new bestie.  Let's sidestep the fact that it's completely ridiculous and creepy for a 32 year-old to refer to a 16 year-old a "bestie".  I don't like it when facts get in the way of my story.

With Sam winning on Sunday, I obviously stuck around a couple of extra days.  So I was able to see Robbie's second round juniors match.  It was fun, primarily because I was reminded of the stress of watching a loved one play when I spotted Mama Robson's carefully selected seating location:

 

I used to do the exact same thing at my sister's gymnastics meets.  It must be love.

Anyway, Laura won.  It was great seeing her on Grandstand because of the speed gun.  I had no idea the kid could pop her serves in the 105-110mph range.  Not bad for a 16 year old, no?  Also, apparently Laura's up to 5'11'' now and she's still growing.  As Maz pointed out, Andy better watch out.  Laura's going to be able to put him in a headlock next time they play Hopman Cup.  The kid wants her diamonds.  You've failed her once.  Don't fail her again.

After the match we caught up, you know, like besties do.  I gave her the thumbs-up on the match and she asked me if I was going to see Sam.  "Laura.  Please."  "Of course you're going to see Sam."  Nice to know the kid TOTALLY READS FORTY DEUCE.  Don't even try and front, Robbie.

After that it was off to see a bit of Genie Bouchard's doubles match.  Genie is a promising junior out of Canada and according to Laura, the one who told her about FD and gave her the head's up that I'd be around on qualifying weekend.  (Editor's note: LIAR!!!)  So I figured I check out the match and at least say hello.  It was a fun match to watch, with Genie's partner, Gabriela Dobrowski, knocking off a couple trick shots at the end.

After the match I introduced myself, told Genie that Laura had sent me over, and Genie denied that she was the one that sent Laura a link to the site.  A summary of the Twitter conversation that ensued:

Laura: I'm so excited for you to meet @geniebouchard. BFFs for sure.

Me: So much pressure.  Quite unfair of you, Robbie.  I feel like I have to do a stand-up routine or something.

Laura: Just talk about Twilight.  Done deal.

Me.  Well now I'm courtside and quite sad that I don't have my Team Edward sign on me.  The one day I don't pack it...

Me:  Connection made.  New besties.  And @geniebouchard told me the truth.  You, my friend, are a liar ;)

Genie:  Haha!  @laurarobson5 busted!

Genie:  And @fortydeucetwits, Laura comes before me?  I see how it is.

Me:  Only because @laurarobson5 lied to me and threw you under the bus.  The truth will set you free, Robbie...

Laura:  God well this is awkward now.  Thanks @geniebouchard.  I don't think I can be part of this BFF trio anymore.  #itisover

So there you go.  Unfortunately both Laura and Genie lost in their next matches.  So I consider my absence a jinx.  It's my fault, ladies.  I should have stuck around.  I've learned my lesson and I apologize that you got caught in the collateral damage.

Hope Doesn't Float. It Sinks In Your Gut And Leaves You Depressed For Days.

It's been 48 hours since this match.  In that 48 hours I got drunk, fought a hangover, endured what was the worst eight hour, two flight/one layover, coast-to-coast trek home, and a day of absolute lethargy.  I've sat down to write this post three times, each time giving up after staring at a blank screen for 30 minutes.

All this is to say, this one is still smarting.  And here's why.

I'm not an idiot.  Or maybe I am, but I was under no illusions at 8:30pm on Tuesday night that Sam would win this match.  Kim has been playing lights out, the wind was whipping around the grounds, and Sam was apparently wiped on Monday after her amazing match against Lena that ended at 1:30am Monday morning.  She didn't hit the hay until 5am, woke up at 8:30am, and could barely make it out to the grounds for a 20 minute hit.  Kim on the other hand has looked fantastic and to me, her movement and ability to turn defense to offense was going to make this a fairly easy straight set win.

And I was totally ok with that.  This was an awesome run from Sammy, who bested her career finish here at the USO, made her second Slam QF of the year, and played, arguably, the best match of her career against Lena, which is saying something given her wins over Serena and Justine.  No cause for complaints from this Sammy diehard.

But then they played the match.  And despite the fact that neither player was playing their best, Sam got her chances.  She was a break up in the first, only to lose the set.  She was a break up in the second, only to get broken back, and then fought her way to even the match, taking the set 7-5.  Even then though, I didn't think it was going to go Sam's way.  I don't know, I just wasn't feeling it.

So the third set started.  And Sam broke straight away.  Holy crap!  Ok...may--oh, no.  She got broken back.  But she broke again!  ZOMG!  This could totally happ--oh, no.  She got broken back.  Then she broke agaaaaaaaaaaaain!  %^*@$#!^!!!  ALL SHE HAS TO DO IS SERVE IT OU--- FUCKKKKKKKK!!!! She got broken back. 

Sam had her chances and for whatever reason (fatigue, nerves) she just could not execute.  She wouldn't hold for the entire third set.  And it's not like Kim was playing all that well either.  Sam broke herself. 

We had snuck down to the middle level to sit near our "lucky seats" from Sunday night and thankfully, the people sitting around us totally covered for us when the usher came by.  That was really nice of them.  But as I left the stadium to the quizzical "You're not staying for Rafa?" questions and headed out of the stadium I was in quite the daze.  I sat outside next to the fountains in the plaza to watch the Rafa match on the big screens.  But I wasn't watching the screen.  Sitting there I saw the StoBros and StoParents at the bar, having a drink, doing one last "Sammy Sammy Sammy! Oi! Oi! Oi!" cheer, and wandering the grounds singing some other Sammy songs.  It was cute. 

I caught myself staring off into the distance or into the fountain for minutes on end.  It was so noticeable that some media friends (what up, Pete and Kevin), who were calling it a night, saw me as they were walking out and yelled "C Note!  Don't do it!  It's not worth it!"  I don't know.  It felt like it might have been worth it. 

Part of it was the reality of the last four weeks finally crashing down on me.  As I tweeted a few seconds after Sam lost, "It is finished."  It's been a glorious run.  A total dream for any tennis fan, to travel across the States by plane, train, and automobile, to see your favorite players play the game you love all the while meeting fantastic people along the way.

But part of it, admittedly and rather somewhat embarrassingly, had to do with the loss.  Let's be clear:  The result was exactly the one I expected.  If I had been at home and gone to sleep and woken up to see the scoreline, I would have just shrugged it off.  But Sam had her chances and there's absolutely no reason she shouldn't have at least forced Kim to take the match in that third set.  As it was, it was a total chokejob.  And I really don't know where it came from.

After the match, Kim said she had no idea how she won the match.  She played like crap.  As for Sam, she was rightfully bummed, even if the journos (bless them) were trying to cheer up and stay positive:

Look, I'm happy to make it to the quarters, by far my best result here. I'm gonna be disappointed about this one, I think. You can't break serve and have chance after chance after chance and blow it in a quarterfinal. It's just too big of an opportunity to kind of let go, and unfortunately that's what I did today.

...

I know Kim's a great player and a very tough opponent here. I mean, it wasn't the easiest match to win. But when you have chances like that, that's what's disappointing, not to kind of lose 'em on your own racquet. I don't think she really stepped up and hit, you know, 12 winners to break my serve three times in a row.

And on the difficulty of holding serve:

Um, oh, I think from the end against the wind it was very hard. I think we both definitely struggled from that end more than the other. So don't really know what excuse I can use to not hold serve with the wind unfortunately.

So yeah, this one will hurt for a while.  Credit to her for not bailing on her Lacoste shoot, which took place the next morning.  But I'm going to do my best to crawl out of Bummertown by tracking down a download of that Lena match and reveling in that moment of happiness until the Asian swing comes around in a few weeks.

Yeah, that'll do it.  I think.  I hope.

Oh, fuck.  There's that "h" word again.

Tennis For Tolerance.

The first time I heard of the amazing dubs pairing of Bopanna/Qureshi was at Roland Garros.  The two have had some solid on-court results together and now, after making the men's doubles final, are seeing some significant off-court results as well.  Just this week, the U.N. ambassadors from Pakistan and India sat courtside, side by side, to watch them play.  

It's a great story, and I know a lot of tennis fans, or, you know, peace fans, will be rooting hard for them on Friday.  Sorry, BryBros.  I know this win would be really big for you, but you have no idea how big it would be for them and, in turn, the world.

Want to read more about these two?  Check out The Daily Forehand's interview with them from D.C.  Great stuff.  

Oh, sport.  Sometimes?  You're awesome.

Ridiculous.

In case you missed it. I totally thought the commentator was going to say "What. The. Fuck." Because seriously, that's what I said.

I unfortunately missed the last few sets of the match because I had to see a Corgi about a choke.  But what an amazing win for Fer, to come back from two sets down, a break down in the 5th, and 4-1 in the tiebreak, to pull off the win.  Totally gutted for Daveed, though.  He worked so hard and played so damn well.  It's a shame all the Spaniards had to beat up on each other to get through.

Excited for tonight's match. Here's hoping Fer didn't blow his load too early and it's a competitive one. Lord knows I still watch their AO09 clash.

Mainly because DonkeyGrooming forces me to. Ok, she bribes me with beer and refuses to drive me home until I watch.  It's like...the same.

Pic This: Stoic? Sam? Surely You Jest.

It's kind of funny when Sam doesn't wear her sunglasses.  You actually get to see what the heck is going on behind them.  And it's awesome.

This one's my new desktop background. 

Because it made me choke on my Vitamin Water.

You're So Vain. You Probably Think This Post Is About You.

If you missed it, check out this set of photos from Vanity Fair with our favorite "under the radar" ATP and WTAers.  I think they did a great job, Sveta's Ed Hardy shirt notwithstanding.  And boy, Sam, talk about a corgi-in-the-headlights look.

Spain: So Fucking Greedy.

 

 

There are still five Spaniards into the Round of 16 (there were six but Montanes lost to Sod).  Unfortunately, four of them have to play each other in the next round: Rafa vs. Feli, Fer vs. Daveed.  Quit dominating all the sports, you swarthy sexy bastards.  It's unfair to all the pasty ugly people who lose early in Grand Slams despite getting all the hype.

No, I'm not over it.

Pic This: Thanks, AP Images.

We Get It. You're Good At Tennis. Now Stop It.

It's 3:15am so I'm gonna make this quick.  That was a hell of a win for Caro today.  She took down the biggest scalp of her young career, dusting an in-form Masha in straight sets, and never really looking all that threatened while she was doing it.  She defended well, served well, and was as aggressive as she needed to be to get Masha running and, more importantly, to get inside Masha's head. 

You could almost see Caro cribbing from Kim's tactic against Ana:

I knew once I got out there that Ana is the type of player -- she's playing with a lot more confidence, and if I can stay with her in the beginning of those first few games where she was playing really good tennis, if I could just stay with her and kind of just, yeah, make her once in a while doubt a little bit. Or just, you know, even when she's playing her best tennis, trying to retrieve a lot of balls and just try to get her to make the mistake, I really felt that was the case in the first five games we played today.

She starts making a few little unforced errors and a couple of double faults. I really tried to use the chances that I had, and that's what I did really well.

Yup, pretty much.  The kid went out there and absolutely won this match.  She's ready for Primetime.

I'm going to need more time to ruminate on what I think this loss means for Masha.  I know it means something.  It's not just a random blip that you just dismiss.  But I need to tumble with it for a bit.

So let's keep the focus on the kid.  Look, I don't think I'll ever be a fan.  And that's not you, Caro.  It's me.  I just don't like your brand of tennis even though I absolutely recognize, particularly after seeing all the improvements in your game which have been on display over the past few weeks, that it is an excellent brand of tennis.  You're consistent, you do everything well, you've developed just enough pop on some of your shots to make yourself more than a "pusher", and you're just getting better with each year, and you're mentally strong.  On top of all that, you're a perfectly nice kid, a good personality for the sport, and you seem to have your head on straight.  Good on your parents, Piotr and Anna, for raising such a sweet kid.

But at the end of the day, I like Coke, not Pepsi.  I like Budweiser, not MGD.  I like BMW, not Mercedes.  I like...other tennis players, not you. 

It's nothing personal.  It's just a preference.

Now go out there and make the final, hopefully against Kim, and let's see what you can do.  You finally have our attention.  Do with it what you will.

Pic This: Bepa Won.

 

It's always something.  And that's why we love you.

From Heaven to Hell. And Back Again.

14 hours.  14 hours in the life of a tennis fan.  To people who don't follow our sport we sound insane.  How can your fortunes change over the course of 14 hours?  But think about it.  In what other sport are you juggling multiple rooting interests (sometimes simultaneously) throughout the course of a day?  None.  You don't have 8 different favorite football teams playing in one day.  But you do have 8 or more favorite players playing in one day at a Slam.

Which means your fortunes and moods can change on a whim.  It ain't easy.

Which brings me to Sunday.  I hopped on the 7 to Flushing Meadows, cued up my iPod, hit shuffle, and it kicked off the day with "Happy" by the Rolling Stones.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.  Then it went to "Ready To Go" by Republica.  Hmmm...are you trying to tell me something, iPod?  Are you my new Ouija board?  Can you see into the future?

And then it went to "Needle in the Hay" by Eliot Smith.  Ahem.

What the fuck would this day have in store for me?

The Drama That Wasn't.

Sorry I haven't blogged in a few days.  But my energy and attendance at the USO has been a bit on the spotty side so here's my attempt to catch up.

As you may have noticed if you follow me on Twitter (seriously, it's the easiest way to keep track of me and my tourettes-like musings), the schedule of play is stacked so that almost all of my favorites play on the same day.  For example, Ana and Sam, both in the same part of the draw, are always a double header.  Which makes it so that I'm really excited one day and kinda bored the next. 

With that in mind, I took Day 4 off and just hung out in and around my hotel, catching up on some reading, doing some errands, and hanging out with friends.  It was a much needed respite.  If you want to catch the full day's action you're pretty much up at 8am, out the door by 9:30 and on the grounds at 10:30am through midnight, and getting home around 1am.  When you throw in an uncontrollable urge to tell people what happened that day (i.e., blog) then you're really not getting much sleep at all.  Do that day after day after day and...yeah, you need to recharge.

So yeah, I didn't go on Thursday.  Which was fine because nothing major happened, though I would have liked to have seen that Petko vs. Bethanie match.

But Friday was going to be a big day.  Ana, Sam, Andy, and Rafa were all on tap, with Ana and Sam scheduled to have some potentially tricky opponents.  On top of that there was the stress of a potential hurricane, which is totally a new thing for me as I have never actually been in or around a hurricane.  So seriously, I was kinda stressed.

Sam was up first against Errani, who she played last week in New Haven and had to save four match points against (hmmm...sounds familiar) to win. 

But it was all good.  Sam won easily in straight sets and it was super fun to watch.  As always.

And with that, Sam was into the fourth round.  Whee!

 

After that I had some time to kill, so I got a little bit of food and drinky drink.  Thankfully I arrived back to Armstrong just in time to see that fanny pack.  There are no words.

Then it was Ana Time.  I saw alongside NYAnafan, who I met a few years ago at Indian Wells.  Quite nice to be on her turf this time to watch our favorite player go at it.

Just a really amazing match against Razzano, who had just beaten Marion in the prior round.  The first set was fairly tight, with Ana getting frustrated with her inability to get the ball through the court.  Mind you, it was a bit gusty. 

But then those guys in the white caps arrived.  And they were cheering WILDLY for Ana.  And I got worried that they would freak her out. 

But they didn't, and she totally got her focus back to take the first set.  It was kinda funny.  After she won and shook hands at the net, she came out to do her crowd salute, and immediately took off her wristbands to throw to them.  For a split second I was scared she was going to just start stripping.

Team Ivanovic in the hizzee.  I was hanging out by the media center/practice courts/Heineken bar (seriously, it's the best area to chill out) and I saw Dragana walking out of the media center.  She stopped to rustle through her bag to find something (my immediate thought -- "Is there a latte in there?"), clearly found it, and walked out of the gate.  As I had been drinking vodka for two hours, I compulsively yelled out "Good luck to Ana today!".  She stopped, she turned, I screamed (in my head), she smiled, and said "Thank you" in the *exact* same way Ana does.  I smiled and then started giggling to myself as she turned to walk away.  It was awesome.

 

From there I had more to drink as I wandered to the grounds.  And low and behold I saw Hannah Storm drunkenly hitting on my boyfriend, who looked absolutely cuddly in his Adidas hoodie.  Step off, Hannah.  Not only can I properly pronounce player names and speak about tennis intelligently, I also have a knife.  And trust, I know how to use it.

I didn't have a night session pass and I was EXHAUSTED by the time the sun came down, so I headed home.  The hurricane never came, thankfully, and everyone I loved won.  So I was all gravy.

Welcome Back to NYC, Djoker.

From 5:33 to the end. Amazing.

Required Reading

• Dolgo gets some well-deserved ink.  Keep an eye on him.
• Obligatory Courage obituary.  
• Ana Ivanovic: Relevant.  Maybe.
• Kevin Fischer of the WTA does some number crunching on WTA hold rates.  Not surprisingly, Serena and Sam top the list. 
• Should Vika have taken the court?  Probably not but hindsight is 20/20.  I've received a few emails and tweets on it.  This isn't football.  You don't need physio clearance to take the court.
• Finally.  Details on Serena's foot.
• Best.  Picture.  Ever. 
• Rafa's least favorite subject?  History.
• I was in Cincy when a journalist was asking a bunch of players about the benefit of hitting second serves like first serves.  Here's the write up.  I don't think he changed any of their minds.
• Nice read on Gigi Fernandez's long road to motherhood.
• 'Lil Wayne.  RafaKADding in prison.
• Women are fragile.  I know this because J-Mac told me so.  And a bunch of whores respond.
• I saw Nicolas Mahut walking the grounds, tennis bag on shoulder, completely ignored and unaccosted.  Amazing how a match can change, or not change, a career.
• John Isner: The Accidental American.
• Uncle Jamie is blogging from the US Open.  And he's doing it right.
• Love that the USO is posting full video of the pressers.  Read and watch them here.

Around The Grounds on Day 3

One thing I've been smacked in the face with over the last three days is that it's really hard to keep track of everything that's going on around the grounds.  I mean, if I were at home I'd have my TV on, live scores up, Twitter running, etc.  But on the grounds, where cell coverage is spotty and the losing war with battery life constant, it's virtually impossible. 

So I had no idea until hours later that Courage was bounced by A-Bond.  From wandering the grounds I was able to catch that Ryan Harrison scored his first Slam win over Lubey and Mikey Llodes bounced Tomas (get it, Andy!).  But it wasn't until I got home and checked my computer that I saw that Mono lost to Gypsy, Errani took out Kleybs, and Pironkova lost to someone I've never hear of. 

It's quite funny to find all this out seeing as how I had quite the calm day.  Watched Sam, Fernando, and Daveed practice, caught some JJangles dubs (they lost), watched Bepa and Petko dubs (two separate matches, to be clear), drank beer while watching Ana demolish Jay-Z, chilled out watching Sam cruise, and then ended the day on a high with a Tipsy upset, all the while trying my best to stay cool on another scorching day.

So if you see me tweet asking about scores and whatnot, please don't laugh.  I seriously have no idea what's going on except whatever's right in front of me. 

And let's face it.  Usually, that thing is Sam.

Around The Grounds on Day 3

One thing I've been reminded of in the course of the last three days is that it's really hard to keep track of everything that's going on around the grounds.  I mean, if I were at home I'd have my TV on, live scores up, Twitter running, etc.  But on the grounds, where cell coverage is spotty and the losing war with battery life constant, it's virtually impossible. 

So I had no idea until hours later that Courage was bounced by A-Bond.  From wandering the grounds I was able to catch that Ryan Harrison scored his first Slam win over Lubey and Mikey Llodes bounced Tomas (get it, Andy!).  But it wasn't until I got home and checked my computer that I saw that Mono lost to Gypsy, Errani took out Kleybs, and Pironkova lost to someone I've never hear of. 

It's quite funny to find all this out seeing as how I had quite the calm day.  Watched Sam, Fernando, and Daveed practice, caught some JJangles dubs (they lost), watched Bepa and Petko dubs (two separate matches, to be clear), drank beer while watching Ana demolish Jay-Z, chilled out watching Sam cruise, and then ended the day on a high with a Tipsy upset, all the while trying my best to stay cool on another scorching day.

So if you see me tweet asking about scores and whatnot, please don't laugh.  I seriously have no idea what's going on except whatever's right in front of me. 

And let's face it.  Usually, that thing is Sam.

"Sammy, Sammy, Sammy! Oi Oi Oi!"

Court scheduling is a funny thing.  As TV viewers we get all pissy when our favorite players aren't on the bigger show courts.  But as a tournament attendee, I get really excited when I see big names on the outer courts.  That means I can sit courtside and actually see the players I love.  This was the case with Sam, who was scheduled to play on Court 11, which is one of the larger outer courts but with limited restrictions on where you can sit.  We were fourth row behind the umpire.  And it was a great spot to see Sammy rock her new purple kit, which I must say, looked surprisingly great. 

Sam was pretty much in control throughout the match, which helped dissipate my concern over her arm, which was taped up during her practice earlier in the day.  I stuck to my "C'mon, Sammy!" and "Let's go Hammer!" cheers, but it was fun to hear StoBros and Co. do their "Sammy, Sammy, Sammy!  Oi Oi Oi!  Sammy, Oi!  Sammy, Oi!  Sammy, Sammy, Sammy, Oi Oi Oi!" cheer, which actually made Sam smirk a bit on court.  Rodionova was in typical form, popping off to Lynn on line calls (no Hawkeye) and taking a ridiculous amount of time between a few points. 

Personally, I'm still worried about that arm.  She was stretching it quite a bit while waiting to do her Aussie TV interview after the match.  But whatever.  All I wanted from Sam was to get a career best result here, which she's done with her win over Rodionova.  She's into the third round and she'll get a crack at Errani, who she beat in rather dramatic fashion last week in New Haven.

Go get it, Hammer.  See at Starbucks in the morning.  Hopefully this time I won't be in my pajamas.

Pic This: Fernando. Because People Seem To Like Him.

Finally saw Fernando practice today.  And really, the only reason I saw him is because Sam was practicing next to him.  So again, thank Sam.

And Daveed, actually.  Even Team Stosur had to stop and watch some shirtless Spanish action.  They were actually quite riveted, particularly by Daveed's footie skills.

Thankfully, Fernando was shirtless. 

Not so thankfully, he was rocking a samurai look.  Blech. 

But it's not like I was looking at the hair anyway, so I guess it works out.

Holy Crap. Get Well, Vika.

I was running late this morning so I was on the train when Vika collapsed on court.  I actually didn't hear about it until I was shooting the shit with a WTA tour official.  Scary stuff.  What was initially diagnosed as heat exhaustion has now been identified as a concussion.  Vika fell in the gym before the match and banged her head but took to the court anyway.

No woozy jokes, here.  It's a damn shame.  I wasn't on the Vika train like BG, but I did think she'd make a statement here.  Hope she recovers quickly.

Pic This: Around The Grounds on Day 2

It was a toasty one today in NYC.  I know this because Aunt Pimmy told me so.  Also because I finally ditched the jeans and t-shirt look and went with shorts and a tanktop.  A wise move, I think.  But between the heat, the crowds, and the size of the grounds, I've come to realize that you have to really want it to win it here at the USO, and I don't mean the players.

Typically when I go to a tournament I like to just wander the grounds and pop in to see whatever match tickles my fancy, or I'll stick around the practice courts to watch random players.  Not so here in NYC.  Nope, there better be a damn good reason for me to haul my ass out of the somewhat tolerable shade and stand/sit in the sun for the better part of an hour.  Even today, I could barely get it up to stick around to watch Sveta, MaKiri, FeVer, or Elena for anything more than five minutes.  To the extent I have pictures of any players or matches it is a reflection of my love for them.  I thought I was going to go blind when Nole, Sam, and Dani were practicing, what with the Iguacu Falls-like deluge of sweat that was running into my eyes.  At one point I looked down and realized sweat was just running down my legs.  Which could have been weird if anyone who knows me, knows FD, and knows my love of all things Corgi had seen me. 

IT WAS SWEAT!  I PROMISE!

There is no wandering here at the USO.  If you wander, you must do so with intent.  And a lot of water.  And sunscreen.  And...patience.

Mikey Llodes and son.

Stop making this awkward, Sam.  Just. Ignore. Me.

Dani and Elena.  Underachieving.  As per yoosh.

Mama Vera shagging balls.

 

Vika and Sergei Bubka Jr., who, according to Boyfriend Jon, is her man friend.  No word on how long his pole is.

Team Venus taking the far practice court.

Happy Vera.  I know.  It's weird.

Oh, hai, Eva.  You kept me thoroughly entertained all evening and for that, I thank you.

Really, Nadia?  Really?  Did someone eat a bowl full of Skittles, pound a huge Icee, and then puke on your dress?  Oh, they did?  Ok, well then I feel a little bad now.

Just Dance.

I honestly didn't think it was going to happen. Not after she won the first set, most definitely not after she lost the second set, and absolutely not after she went into a third set tiebreak.  I mean, I know better than to hope.  And with Petko's pattern of finding heartbreaking ways to lose big matches, I was prepared for the worst.

But it did happen!  And it was great!  And I thought at one point Nadia might kill me!  We were sitting courtside and during the third set I guess Nadia heard someone say something and it got her all pissy.  She looked over in our general direction (we were sitting two sections over from Petko's camp) and said "Who said that?  No respect."  Uh...I was just yelling "Ajde", "Komm jetzt", and "C'mon Andrea" all match.  Pretty sure that wasn't directed at me.  If she wants to be mad at somebody, talk to the dude in dreads sitting up at the top of the stadium who kept yelling "Nadiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" throughout the match. 

And then, to top it all off, after she loses, Nadia packs up all her shit, is about to sling her bag over her shoulder, stops, opens up the bag, PULLS OUT A RACQUET, and then grabs her bag and walks off court, racquet in hand.  I mean...huh?  Look, dude, I'm sorry you were in a pissy mood because you had to wear that piece of ugly onto the court.  But let's dial it down, huh?

Whatever.  Huge congratulations to Petkorazzi who finally scored a win in a tight match on a big stage, scoring the biggest upset in the first round of the women's side.   She deserves this.  She works so hard and she's a fantastically nice person to boot.  She hey-heyed me after the match after I yelled "We love you Petkorazzi!!!"  It totally made my day.